christ in a cock bucket that was a ridiculous game
but now that i've at least come down from that euphoric high,
i might actually be able to relay coherent thoughts
and talk about the game like thegiddy schoolgirl manly bearded man i am
yup, that's right
MICHIGAN STATE–WISCONSIN REDUX TIEM
[as a preëmptive warning,
troll me and i will kick your ass
this isn't espnchat, this is serious shit]
msu 37, wisconsin 31
i think the most notable thing about this game was the scoring pendulum
both teams managed to blow 14–point leads at different points,
with wisconsin blowing a 14–0 lead, and msu blowing a 31–17 lead
it's not common to see that happen once,
but twice? c'mon now, that's some rare shit
i would say it's sadly typical for msu to do such a thing
but we no longer live in the days of bobby williams, john l, and the 'same old spartans'
which means msu was able to care of its business
albeit in an incredibly desperate and frenetic way
a lot of the comments about the game revovled around msu's lack of penalties
but i don't think that's really the stat to be talking about
[and i DON'T want to hear complaints about refs missing calls
i will unreservedly admit that the refs missed calls on both teams
but that happens in every. single. game in college football
so don't act like this was an egrigious one–time scandal]
i think wisconsin's six penalties is a much more telling statistic
three of those penalties were false starts
[which shows that they were uncharacteristically jumpy]
one of them was just a bad choice [the safety]
and one of them was completely unnecessary [the personal foul]
i think those fouls show that our team and atmosphere was getting to them
and were being more disruptive to their normal scheme than they were expecting
intimidation is just as much of a factor as talent
and i think this game showed what happens when wisconsin feels intimidated
another stat that was brought up was the amount of yards wisconsin gained
443, or roughly 370 more than our average coming into the game
lots were down on how much the badgers rolled over the spartans' d
BUT, i happen to remember a tidbit of a prediction i saw,
which noted that wisconsin's d was ranked basically on par with msu's
which means, in theory, that they should've held msu for less than 200 yards
when, in actuality, msu gained twice that at 399
so while msu's defense gave up a lot of yardage, wisconsin's did too
and i think it's pretty indicative of another issue of theirs:
they don't know how to handle being behind
this was the first game wisconsin more than one drive behind
[the only predecessor was when they hosted nebraska:
nebraska scored first, then they answered,
nebraska scored again, then they rattled off three scores just cuz they could]
it's something they're gonna have to address
granted, wisconsin's d stepped up in a big way in the second half
but they can't have that kind of drought if they want to stay competitive
just cuz they came back this time doesn't mean they'll always be able to
i think the key to this whole game was msu's ability to contain russell wilson
seriously, that kid is a fucking stud at qb
he'd only played six games with wisconsin, but already had:
95/128 completions for 1557 yds, a 210.9 passer rating, 74.2% completion average
so naturally, pat narduzzi decided to go after him
and msu kept him to season lows for completion %, passer rating,
and tripled his interception numbers
it also didn't hurt that kirk cousins stepped up and played like he usually does
i really don't see why everyone was so down on him this year
i'm sorry that he can't reach the absurdly lofty expectations some people desire,
but i'd rather have a dependable, solid qb than a showy one anyday
and today, that 'rather' paid off big time
finally, that last touchdown
that last glorious, improbable heave
the drive leading up to it was sloppy as shit, i'll admit
and i'll admit that i was afraid of a fourth quarter collapse,
but if there's anyone, ANYONE, to blame for that lose
it should be bret bielema, not the officials,
and there really shouldn't be any blame for bielema in the first place
his strategy wasn't unsound, in fact dantonio had done the same thing
don't let the other team run out the clock,
force them to make plays while on the field,
and then get a turnover on downs and do what you gotta do
it's a pretty standard strategy for those last two minute drills
so, in light of the game's ending,
you could argue that poor clock management gave them msu that hail mary opportunity
and thus won them the game
but that's kind of a specious argument
had that pass not been caught, bielema would've gotten praise for his decisions
he just had the unlucky fortune of being on the losing side of that pass
as for the last pass and td itself,
i defer to the officials
because a] they get paid to officiate, b] they actually are neutral
and c] i'm not gonna play that idiotic 'what if' game
that's by far one of the most irritating things fans do [and yes, msu fans included]
"yeah, well, if that one play had gone differently, then blah blah &c"
bullshit. bullshit nonsense.
a typical justification response from people unwilling to accept outcomes
so yes, wisconsin could've batted that pass down,
but they didn't
michigan could've kept driving in the 4th quarter instead of throwing the pick 6
and yet, they didn't
and so we are left not with what 'could've happened', or 'should've happened'
but what actually did fucking happen
i understand wanting to dissect and analyze the game,
but please, just let the game be the game
if you didn't like the refs call on the hail mary, so be it
but don't get your panties in a twist and go off the deep end about
shit happens, man, and teams lose in the last seconds sometimes
god knows i've watched my teams do that enough times
[yes msu, i AM looking at you]
in other words, the officials saw it, reviewed it, and called it like it was
we got lucky that nichols caught the deflection and pushed in
we got lucky that he got just enough of the ball to break the plane
and we got lucky that the refs felt it was indisputable evidence
yes, it is luck, and it was on our side
it's not a conspiracy, it's not a scandal, it's not karma or fate or what have you
it was luck, and this time it was on msu's side
have a good scream, take a breath, and then get over it
[that goes retroactively for you too, fairweather/walmart wolverines fans
god knows no one holds a pissy grudge like you guys do]
in short, damn was that a good game
i think the last game i enjoyed that much was the 2009 msu/iowa game
you know, the one msu lost in the LAST TWO SECONDS
man, that game was a great defensive showcase
that's what i enjoy most about big ten football,
a great, hard–hitting, defensive game by two smashmouth teams
and this one certainly fit that description
as a side note, both wisconsin and oklahoma lost tonight,
along with west virginia last night,
and south carolina had a bye week
which means that msu might just sneak into the #10 spot
it'd take some finangling and some leapfrogging of other teams,
but i'm gonna hold out hope regardless
last–second–yet–decisive wins against top ten opponets mean a lot
definitely more than blowout wins over terrible teams
[yeah, that means you oklahoma state, clemson, oregon, and kansas state]
so i think there's a distinctive possibility we crack the bcs top ten list
only 17 before we find out
but now that i've at least come down from that euphoric high,
i might actually be able to relay coherent thoughts
and talk about the game like the
yup, that's right
MICHIGAN STATE–WISCONSIN REDUX TIEM
[as a preëmptive warning,
troll me and i will kick your ass
this isn't espnchat, this is serious shit]
msu 37, wisconsin 31
i think the most notable thing about this game was the scoring pendulum
both teams managed to blow 14–point leads at different points,
with wisconsin blowing a 14–0 lead, and msu blowing a 31–17 lead
it's not common to see that happen once,
but twice? c'mon now, that's some rare shit
i would say it's sadly typical for msu to do such a thing
but we no longer live in the days of bobby williams, john l, and the 'same old spartans'
which means msu was able to care of its business
albeit in an incredibly desperate and frenetic way
a lot of the comments about the game revovled around msu's lack of penalties
but i don't think that's really the stat to be talking about
[and i DON'T want to hear complaints about refs missing calls
i will unreservedly admit that the refs missed calls on both teams
but that happens in every. single. game in college football
so don't act like this was an egrigious one–time scandal]
i think wisconsin's six penalties is a much more telling statistic
three of those penalties were false starts
[which shows that they were uncharacteristically jumpy]
one of them was just a bad choice [the safety]
and one of them was completely unnecessary [the personal foul]
i think those fouls show that our team and atmosphere was getting to them
and were being more disruptive to their normal scheme than they were expecting
intimidation is just as much of a factor as talent
and i think this game showed what happens when wisconsin feels intimidated
another stat that was brought up was the amount of yards wisconsin gained
443, or roughly 370 more than our average coming into the game
lots were down on how much the badgers rolled over the spartans' d
BUT, i happen to remember a tidbit of a prediction i saw,
which noted that wisconsin's d was ranked basically on par with msu's
which means, in theory, that they should've held msu for less than 200 yards
when, in actuality, msu gained twice that at 399
so while msu's defense gave up a lot of yardage, wisconsin's did too
and i think it's pretty indicative of another issue of theirs:
they don't know how to handle being behind
this was the first game wisconsin more than one drive behind
[the only predecessor was when they hosted nebraska:
nebraska scored first, then they answered,
nebraska scored again, then they rattled off three scores just cuz they could]
it's something they're gonna have to address
granted, wisconsin's d stepped up in a big way in the second half
but they can't have that kind of drought if they want to stay competitive
just cuz they came back this time doesn't mean they'll always be able to
i think the key to this whole game was msu's ability to contain russell wilson
seriously, that kid is a fucking stud at qb
he'd only played six games with wisconsin, but already had:
95/128 completions for 1557 yds, a 210.9 passer rating, 74.2% completion average
so naturally, pat narduzzi decided to go after him
and msu kept him to season lows for completion %, passer rating,
and tripled his interception numbers
it also didn't hurt that kirk cousins stepped up and played like he usually does
i really don't see why everyone was so down on him this year
i'm sorry that he can't reach the absurdly lofty expectations some people desire,
but i'd rather have a dependable, solid qb than a showy one anyday
and today, that 'rather' paid off big time
finally, that last touchdown
that last glorious, improbable heave
the drive leading up to it was sloppy as shit, i'll admit
and i'll admit that i was afraid of a fourth quarter collapse,
but if there's anyone, ANYONE, to blame for that lose
it should be bret bielema, not the officials,
and there really shouldn't be any blame for bielema in the first place
his strategy wasn't unsound, in fact dantonio had done the same thing
don't let the other team run out the clock,
force them to make plays while on the field,
and then get a turnover on downs and do what you gotta do
it's a pretty standard strategy for those last two minute drills
so, in light of the game's ending,
you could argue that poor clock management gave them msu that hail mary opportunity
and thus won them the game
but that's kind of a specious argument
had that pass not been caught, bielema would've gotten praise for his decisions
he just had the unlucky fortune of being on the losing side of that pass
as for the last pass and td itself,
i defer to the officials
because a] they get paid to officiate, b] they actually are neutral
and c] i'm not gonna play that idiotic 'what if' game
that's by far one of the most irritating things fans do [and yes, msu fans included]
"yeah, well, if that one play had gone differently, then blah blah &c"
bullshit. bullshit nonsense.
a typical justification response from people unwilling to accept outcomes
so yes, wisconsin could've batted that pass down,
but they didn't
michigan could've kept driving in the 4th quarter instead of throwing the pick 6
and yet, they didn't
and so we are left not with what 'could've happened', or 'should've happened'
but what actually did fucking happen
i understand wanting to dissect and analyze the game,
but please, just let the game be the game
if you didn't like the refs call on the hail mary, so be it
but don't get your panties in a twist and go off the deep end about
shit happens, man, and teams lose in the last seconds sometimes
god knows i've watched my teams do that enough times
[yes msu, i AM looking at you]
in other words, the officials saw it, reviewed it, and called it like it was
we got lucky that nichols caught the deflection and pushed in
we got lucky that he got just enough of the ball to break the plane
and we got lucky that the refs felt it was indisputable evidence
yes, it is luck, and it was on our side
it's not a conspiracy, it's not a scandal, it's not karma or fate or what have you
it was luck, and this time it was on msu's side
have a good scream, take a breath, and then get over it
[that goes retroactively for you too, fairweather/walmart wolverines fans
god knows no one holds a pissy grudge like you guys do]
in short, damn was that a good game
i think the last game i enjoyed that much was the 2009 msu/iowa game
you know, the one msu lost in the LAST TWO SECONDS
man, that game was a great defensive showcase
that's what i enjoy most about big ten football,
a great, hard–hitting, defensive game by two smashmouth teams
and this one certainly fit that description
as a side note, both wisconsin and oklahoma lost tonight,
along with west virginia last night,
and south carolina had a bye week
which means that msu might just sneak into the #10 spot
it'd take some finangling and some leapfrogging of other teams,
but i'm gonna hold out hope regardless
last–second–yet–decisive wins against top ten opponets mean a lot
definitely more than blowout wins over terrible teams
[yeah, that means you oklahoma state, clemson, oregon, and kansas state]
so i think there's a distinctive possibility we crack the bcs top ten list
only 17 before we find out
0 comments:
Post a Comment